5/24 Big fish, Colstrip, BC oysters, Seattle port, state of birds

Steven Charles Orr with state record black rockfish

Washington’s 46-year-old black rockfish record broken
After 46 years, Washington has a new state record black rockfish, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed today. The fish weighing 10.72 pounds was caught on May 15 by Steven Charles Orr of Rochester, Washington. The fish, measuring 26.15 inches long, was hooked in Marine Area 1 near Ilwaco, Pacific County. Orr said he was bait fishing with herring.  Rich Landers reports. (Spokesman-Review)

Colstrip power-plant operator plans to quit plants within two years
The operator of the four coal-fired power plants at Colstrip told plant owners Monday it plans to exit as operator within two years, MTN News has learned. State Sens. Jim Keane and Duane Ankney confirmed Monday they’d been told Talen Energy of Allentown, Pa., informed the plants’ utility owners that it no longer wants to operate the power plants in southeastern Montana. Ankney, of Colstrip, also said Talen has asked to “expedite” its request to expedite as plant operator, and possibly quit its role earlier than two years. Mike Dennison reports. (MTN News)

British Columbia’s oyster sector focuses on protocol, safety
When Canada’s food safety agency announced a recall of B.C. oysters last August, it meant producers like Steve Pocock had to ensure every last oyster they had shipped after a certain date was accounted for. Along with a recall – issued by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) after dozens of people got sick as a result of eating raw oysters contaminated with a bacterium called Vibrio parahaemolyticus – there was a ban on restaurants serving raw oysters from British Columbia. The inconvenience and forgone sales added up to a big hit for Mr. Pocock and other producers in British Columbia’s oyster sector. Over the past few months, they have been working to prevent a repeat scenario. Wendy Stueck reports. (Globe and Mail)

Port of Seattle wants to ready Terminal 5 for big ships
A glimpse of the future of the marine cargo business came in February, when the Benjamin Franklin arrived in Elliott Bay. The largest cargo ship ever in Puget Sound called at Terminal 18 on Harbor Island, which can hold two mega ships. The Northwest Seaport Alliance wants to be able to dock two more at Terminal 5. On Monday, the Port of Seattle released a draft environmental impact statement for the modernization project, and opened about a month's worth of public comment. Graham Johnson reports. (KIRO)

The State of North America’s Birds 2016
The North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) just released The State of North America's Birds 2016, based on the first-ever conservation vulnerability assessment for all 1,154 native bird species that occur in Canada, the continental United States, and Mexico. The assessment was compiled by a team of experts from all three countries and includes an interactive species assessment table, conservation status descriptions, levels of conservation concern for 9 major habitat types, and much more.

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  302 AM PDT TUE MAY 24 2016  

TODAY  LIGHT WIND...BECOMING NW 5 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND  WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
TONIGHT  W WIND 5 TO 15 KT IN THE EVENING...BECOMING LIGHT. WIND  WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
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